James Holmes' Suicide Attempt Does Not Make Him Insane

Accused Colorado theater gunman, James Holmes, was taken to the hospital on Tuesday for a “medical condition” that left him “unable to attend” a court hearing scheduled for later this week. According to reports, Mr. Holmes was trying to harm himself in a few sort of half-assed suicide attempts. He let himself free-fall backwards off his bunk and also ran head first into the wall, both in failed attempts to “kill himself.”

Of course, we have no idea what's going on in Holmes' head, but it certainly looks like he's trying get around taking responsibility for the horrific murders he's accused of committing -- either by taking himself out or making himself appear unfit to stand trial.

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Whatever the case may be, James Holmes' attorney says he cannot appear in court this week because of an “undisclosed condition.” Holmes is charged with killing 12 people and injuring at least 58 others at a theatre showing The Dark Knight. More than likely, he is getting scared now that it's time to go in front of a judge and doing whatever he can to avoid it.

I've heard nothing of remorse, and personally, I think Holmes is trying to set the stage for a not guilty by reason of insanity plea. I do think it's possible that he is insane, but he is not legally insane. By definition, the legally insane don't know the difference between right and wrong at the time they commit the crime. You can be batshit crazy now and it has no bearing.

From everything that's been reported about Holmes' alleged crimes and the detailed plotting beforehand, it sure seems that he knew he was doing something wrong. That is why he did it by sneaking in the back door of the theater. Sounds like he prepared for it and planned every detail. He allegedly even boobie trapped his house just to hurt more people. There was thought and intention behind his actions. He can be crazy as he wants to be now, but the evidence adds up to the fact that he knew his actions in the theater that night were wrong and he just didn't care.

Holmes is acting like a scared little girl right now. He deserves whatever he has coming to him, and jumping off his bed or running into walls is not going to save him. Hey Holmes, you do the crime, you can do the time.

Do you think insanity in the traditional sense should get you off of premeditated murder charges?